Mandaric's arrival enables Owls to snare Madine and Reynolds

MILAN MANDARIC has bankrolled a double transfer swoop to bolster Sheffield Wednesday's squad with the intention of winning promotion to the Championship.

The new Owls owner splashed out to sign highly-regarded forward Gary Madine from Carlisle United before beating off competition from several Championship clubs to entice Scottish Under-21 defender Mark Reynolds from Motherwell.

Hillsborough officials have withheld details of the transfer fees but the cost for the pair is understood to be approaching 400,000.

Wednesday had earlier had a 100,000 offer for Reynolds rejected while Carlisle had dismissed two offers of 200,000 for striker Madine.

The 20-year-old 6ft 5ins target man has been an ever-present for the Cumbrians this season scoring 13 goals, including two hat-tricks. He has signed a four-and-a-half-year deal with the Owls.

Wednesday manager Alan Irvine said: "Gary is a good young striker who I have been monitoring for some time.

"He's a big lad, very good in the air and has a good touch. He is aggressive, he scores goals and has a lot of promise and potential."

Reynolds, 23, a fixture in the Motherwell defence, came through the ranks and has clocked up 192 appearances for the Scottish Premier League side and represented Scotland at Under-19, Under-20 and Under- 21 levels.

Irvine said: "Mark is very quick and has played a lot of games for someone of 23 years old. He can play at left-back or centre-back and will add more quality to our squad.

"He has represented Scotland through to Under-21 level and comes with glowing references from everyone that I spoke to."

Reynolds is the third defender Irvine has brought in during the January transfer window, Reda Johnson and Michael Morrison arriving earlier this month.

Carlisle were resigned to losing Gateshead-born striker Madine – who along with Reynolds passed a medical on Saturday – after he told the Cumbrians he wanted to move to Hillsborough.

Carlisle's managing director John Nixon said: "This isn't the first offer that we have received for Gary and we have, in fact, turned down two enquiries that have been in excess of 200,000 over the course of the last 12 months.

"He is a player that has generated a lot of interest, particularly since he came to prominence after his goal at Wembley in March.

"He has led the line as a 20-year-old and he has done it well, and it became apparent very quickly that clubs were starting to come to look at him.

"We have been in discussion with Sheffield Wednesday since Thursday about Gary, and the player was keen to make the move once he had spoken to them and to those who advise him.

"Our manager then spoke to him and, after some consideration, we reluctantly agreed that we would accept the offer and allow him to go.

"He feels that it is a big club, with crowds often in the region of 15,000-20,000, and moving to a club like that is a challenge that he wants to take."